Promise me you won't overreact
by MarenMary93
Summary: Luca gets injured on the job. He's 100% ready to downplay it at first. hurt!Luca
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this story was sparked by a prompt I came across somewhere. **

**"Promise me you won't overreact..."**

**And since I'm currently suffering from Luca withdrawal, I ended up starting this story. **

"Promise me you won't overreact…" Luca fought not to grimace.

Street looked his friend up and down, "Are you alright?"

Luca nodded slightly, still trying to hide the same grimace, his left arm hanging limply by his side.

"Luca, are you alright?" Street stepped closer, forcing eye contact with Luca. He noticed the limp arm, noticed a sticky droplet hanging from one of Luca's gloved fingers.

Luca nodded again.

Street KNEW Luca wasn't telling the truth, so he reached a hand out to touch Luca's left arm.

"DON'T!" Luca almost barked as he flinched away long before Street even came close, then he hit his knees when the agony quadrupled from the sudden movement.

"SHIT, you're not alright." Street frowned and dropped to one knee beside Luca, "What happened?"

Luca couldn't answer.

"Luca…" Street gently grabbed on to Luca's forearm, causing the older man to cringe. "Where's the blood from?"

"Upper. Arm.?" The shrug he couldn't act out was present in his voice, "OrAboveMyWrist?"

"Did you get shot? I didn't hear a gun…" Street frowned, knowing he would have heard even a silenced shot. Then he looked up, scanning above them, "Did you fall or something?"

Luca nodded.

"One of the damn suspects…" Luca paused to let out a slow growl, "-Tossed me out of an open window. Hondo's still up there."

"You landed on your arm?"

Luca nodded a little, "Think I broke it."

"Let's get you out in the streetlights so we can take a look at this." Street nodded towards Luca's arm, "Want me to try to keep on holding it as we walk?"

"It's gonna hurt like hell if you let go…" Luca gritted his teeth.

"How's your shoulder? Is it possible for me to help you up if I hook my elbow under your armpit?"

Luca shook his head.

"Okay, belt it is then…" Street figured and scooted around to get a decent hold of Luca's belt.

Luca nodded.

"On three."

Luca nodded.

"One. Two. Three!"

Luca found his footing with a guttural growl.

"How are you feeling?"

"Forget it." Luca frowned.

"Are you ready to walk?"

Luca nodded hesitantly.

**SWATSWATSWAT**

Once they reached the street itself, Street helped Luca sit down on the stairs up to one of the buildings.

"How bad is it?"

"Think I broke it…"

"Well, duh…" Street rolled his eyes, "I meant, where? Just above the wrist and your upper arm? Or are there more to worry about?"

"Dunno…" Luca inhaled sharply, "Wrist feels odd. Might've torn something in my elbow? Shoulder feels like it's been out, but I think it slipped back in…"

"So it is to be considered FUBAR?"

Luca nodded, "Effed up beyond all recognition."

"We should take a good look at it. You okay if I slice up the sleeve."

"As long as I can move it as little as possible."

Street nodded as he took his knife from the holster. "How's the rest of you feeling? How's your head? Neck?"

"My arm broke most of the fall." Luca closed his eyes hard, "Only other part I can tell hurts right now is my left knee. The suspect kicked me in it before I went out the window. Hondo might need help up there."

A triple set of double taps pierced the semi-silence.

Luca's eyes shot open.

"Hondo!" Luca instinctively attempted to lift his hand to activate his microphone, but ended up curling into a growling ball.

Street nodded and five seconds later he smiled, "Hondo's all good, Luca…"

"Good." Luca said between gasps, "Why didn't I hear him?"

"I think your earpiece's out…" Street smirked and lifted the earpiece into Luca's field of view, "Now, back to your arm."

Luca nodded.

"Are you okay with laying in that position?"

Luca nodded, "It's not the worst."

"Do you want to sit back up?"

"No."

"Okay." Street nodded and started unbuttoning the cuff, before he carefully started slicing up the sleeve. Then stopping right before he reached the elbow. He had exposed the first obvious break, the ulna or the radius piercing through the skin. "I'm going to cover that one up, okay?"

"How bad is it?" Luca had chosen to cover his eyes with his opposite forearm.

"Open fracture above your wrist. Not sure which bone it is. Looks a bit like it could be both bones."

"Is it crooked?"

"Yeah."

"Felt like it was." Luca sighed. "Does it bleed a lot?"

"No." Street shook his head as he ripped open a package of non-stick sterile compresses, and an elastic gauze. Then he put on some clean plastic gloves. "I think it's your upper arm that's bleeding."

Luca nodded slightly.

Street placed one of the compresses over the wound itself, then he started wrapping it up with the elastic. "This dressing isn't pretty, but it'll be a clean layer against the wound."

Luca nodded.

"Can you feel your hand? Your fingers?"

"I think so…"

Street let the back of his index run against Luca's fingers, starting with the thumb "Feel that?"

"Yeah." Luca nodded, "Sorta painful."

Street moved on to the next finger, "And that?"

"Still feel it, but nowhere as painful."

Street nodded and continued, the next couple of fingers had feeling, but weren't too painful.

The pinky finger was.

"F*** that felt like touching an electric fence! At the bear pen, at the zoo!" Luca cried out as he regained the ability to speak coherently again.

"Okay…" Street nodded, "I'm going to slice up the rest of your sleeve now."

Luca nodded.

Street started cutting the fabric, and didn't stop before he had uncovered Luca's entire shoulder."Did they have knives?"

"What?"

"Knives? Did the suspect use a knife?"

Luca closed his eyes as he thought back.

"Or anything else sharp…" Street added as he placed another compress on a wound. "Your upper arm is obviously broken, but I don't think it was an open fracture…"

"Obviously broken?"

"It's shorter, and a little angled."

"Okay."

"Wound looks more like it was from a knife or something slicing across."

"I think I had a close encounter with a vase…"

"Glass vase?"

"Yeah."

"Broken?"

"Definitely was afterwards…"

"Okay. -I need to be able to wrap some gauze around your arm, think you could move it a bit out from your body?"

Luca pressed air past his lips, then he met Street's eyes, "You're going to have to help me back to a sitting position."

"Okay, I can do that." Then he paused again, obviously listening to the comms, "They're all done up there."

"Good."

Then he activated his mic, "Good job, Luca's down here. Messed up his arm pretty good in the fall."

Street listened to the reply for ten seconds or so."

"Broken in at least two places. Some bleeding. Moderate or severe pain, by the looks of him."

"Nah, I'm good."

"Luca, you told me not to overreact, but there's a lot of space between overreacting and not reacting at all." Street narrowed his eyes on his older buddy, "Your arm looks pretty bad, and you are in pain."

Then Street spoke into the mic again, "Could be nice to have one of you down here to help me."

Then a few seconds passed as someone answered again.

"Super, see you in a bit."

"Who's coming?"

"Hondo." Street smiled, "Deacon's keeping an eye on the suspects."

Then someone came around the corner, "Heard you ran into some trouble…"

Luca glanced over, "Chris!"

"How are you doing Luca?"

"Hurts like hell…"

"Think you can help me support his arm once he's seated?"

Chris nodded, and hunched down in front of Luca, "You want some help sitting up, tough guy?"

"Yeah."

**SWATSWATSWAT**

"There, all patched up." Street winked, "Think we'll be able to move your elbow so that we can put you in a sling?"

Luca glanced down.

"What do you think?" Chris asked behind him, rubbing a hand against his good shoulder.

"-We could try…" Luca sighed, "But I'm not sure it'll work."

Street nodded, and cradled Luca's forearm. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be…"

Street hadn't moved Luca's arm an inch before he started 'tapping out' with his good hand.

"Stop?"

Luca nodded, and Street placed his arm where it had been rested earlier.

"You want us to call for an ambulance?"

"No, I'll just ride to the hospital with you guys." Luca glanced down at his arm, "I'm not unable to move, I'm not actively bleeding out or dying… I don't need an ambulance."

Street nodded.

"We should probably call ahead to the hospital and let them know you're coming."

Luca nodded slightly.

"Do you want to sit up front, or in the back?" Street asked as he nodded towards Black Betty.

"Front." Luca answered quietly, "But you're going to have to clip me in."

Street nodded, "Sure thing."

"And whoever's driving her will have to drive SMOOTH!"

"Sure!"

**Alright, hope you enjoyed. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, so… Here comes the second chapter. **

"So, how was nightshift?" Cassie asked Andrea as she sat down to get report.

"Pretty quiet. But we got in one of LA's finest."

"Oh?" Cassie looked up, "An officer?"

"LAPD S.W.A.T." Andrea nodded. "Room 24."

"What's his status?"

"Alert and oriented. Busted up arm, smaller injury to one of his knees."

"GSW or…?"

"Fall from the second or third floor, I don't remember…" Andrea committed as her eyebrows crept close together, "Landed full weight on his left arm. Multiple fractures in his arm, ligament and other soft-tissue damage."

"And his knee?"

"Possible patella fracture." Andrea shrugged.

"Possible?"

"He's scheduled for more imaging later today." Andrea explained, "He was in a lot of pain, and the tech didn't wan't to push him more than necessary."

Cassie nodded, "Is his pain handled well?"

"He got OxyCotin depot, 10 mg, two hours ago. He hasn't slept much, but the two last times I checked in on him, he told me he felt alright."

"So, is he one of the patients we should be a bit up front with? Offer up PRNs?"

"I think he qualifies as the 'tough man, no-feel pain' type, yeah…"

"Got to love macho men…" Cassie rolled her eyes. "Is he NPO?"

"He's not restricted of clear liquids yet. And the doctor said he could take pills per os until 11 a.m." Andrea, "-If he gets surgery today, it won't be before in the afternoon."

"Okay. Is he set up for any fluids or anything?"

Andrea shook her head, "Just pain management right now."

Cassie nodded, "And our other patients?"

"21-2 has been up most of the night, delirious." Andrea looked down at her list, "23-1 requested extra pain meds at 02 and 06… Antibiotics is hanging in 25. 27-2 FINALLY had a bowel movement. The rest has been sleeping tight the entire night."

"Oh, who would've thought one would be so damn happy for someone else taking a crap back in nursing school."

"Amen to that…" Andrea nodded.

"Alright, if there's nothing else… Then you should get home and sleep, you're on 2 out of 3 right?"

Andrea nodded.

"See you tomorrow morning, sleep well!"

"Have a nice shift!"

"Thanks!"

Then Cassie turned to the computer to read through the nursing notes since her last shift.

**SWATSWATSWAT**

She knocked lightly at the door before she opened it.

"Hey!" the man inside answered her.

"Hello. I'm Cassie."

"I'm Luca," the man grinned, "You're the dayshift nurse?"

"Yeah." she nodded, "How are you feeling?"

"Pain is alright, but I'm going a bit stir-crazy from laying around here."

"I heard you were part of S.W.A.T., I guess you're more accustomed to running around and being high on adrenaline…"

The guy chuckled a bit, "Yeah, well… Sitting still and doing nothing has never really been my strength. Right now I don't really have a choice though."

Cassie nodded, "Is your arm in a good position?"

Luca shrugged his good shoulder, "Can't complain."

"And your leg?"

"Can't complain." Luca repeated, "I was going for more pictures later, right?"

Cassie nodded, "That seems to be the plan. -The report said you had fallen out a window."

"Yeah, tossed out of one…" Luca nodded, "Third floor."

"You look like a capable guy, I'd hate to see the person who 'tossed' you out a window…"

Luca smirked, "Well, he did kick my knee first, I was a little preoccupied trying to figure out if I could put my weight on it or not…"

"What answer did you come up with?"

"Well, I limped along on it a bit afterwards." Luca scrounged up his nose, "Putting weight on it wasn't all bad, but straightening and bending it was not cool. The doctor suspected I might've broken my kneecap…?"

"Yeah, that's part of the extra pictures we wanted to take." Cassie nodded, "The x-rays suggested there might be a fracture there, but the image wasn't good enough to be sure."

Luca nodded.

"And they also wanted more detailed pictures of your arm and shoulder."

"CAT-scan or MRI?"

"Both." Cassie answered, "CT to get a detailed view of your fractures, to prepare the surgeons better. And an MRI so they can check for ligament and other soft tissue damage."

"Cool." Luca nodded, "Look, I've got a plate and eight screws in my right tibia… Will that be okay with the MRI?"

"Yeah, as long as you had the surgery in a US hospital in the last 40 or so years…" Cassie nodded, "Surgical titanium won't cause you problems during the scan, but it might cause some local disturbance in the scan."

"Six years ago, this very hospital." Luca smirked.

"Do you have any other metal in your body?"

"No."

"Ever been shot?"

"A couple of times, but that's either been through and through, or just graze wounds."

"Have you had x-rays to confirm that you don't have any metal left in your body from those bullets?"

Luca nodded, "Yeah, no trace."

"That's good." Cassie smiled as she looked over the room, "Now, is there anything I can help you with?"

Luca blushed slightly, "Actually… Uhmm… Could you get me a urine bottle, or a catheter… _Preferably_ a bottle."

Cassie nodded, "Sure thing. I'll find a urinal bottle."

"Thanks. My ears are pretty much bubbling."

"Okay, I'll go find it straight away."

"Thanks."

**SWATSWATSWAT**

Luca managed to dose off every now and then, and soon enough it was 2p.m.

The extra set of pictures had been taken, some doctor had been in and explained their findings.

Cassie the nurse had been in and out a few times, twice giving him pills, once giving him some injection to deal with the pain. And a few more times just to make sure he was doing okay.

Right before 2:15 she came back again.

"Hey." Luca smiled.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

Luca shrugged, "Not too shabby, whatever you injected me with earlier kicked in quickly. -And it works wonderfully."

Cassie nodded, "I had a chat with the doctor, figured you could use something a pinch stronger."

Luca smiled, "Thanks."

"So, the doctor sent his evaluation earlier. Looks like you're not going in for surgery today."

"Oh…"

"So, you're no longer fasting."

"Right." Luca nodded as he absorbed the news.

"Bottom line, dinner is just around the corner, and I wondered if you'd like salmon or chicken."

Luca nodded, "with potatoes or something else?"

"Pasta or potatoes."

"Could I get salmon with pasta?"

"Sure…" Cassie nodded, "And what would you like to drink? Water, milk, juice, coffee, tea?"

"Water and coffee, if that's not too much of a hassle."

"Milk or sugar in that coffee?"

"Nah… Just black."

Cassie nodded, "Alright, I'll be back soon."

Luca nodded.

**Alright, hope you enjoyed this so far…**


	3. Chapter 3

There was a knock at the door, and five people pretty much stumbled into the room.

Luca couldn't help but grin.

"Hey bud…" Chris grinned, "How are you holding up?"

"Ah, you know…" Luca offered up what he hoped was a confident smirk, "Bored."

"Well, I figured you wouldn't be up for any videogames, so I didn't bring your PSP…" Street shrugged, "But I brought my iPad so that you can watch Netflix and YouTube…"

"Thanks!"

"How does it feel?" Deacon asked as he nodded to the massive cast and bandage wrap covering most of Luca's left arm.

Luca clicked his tongue, "I feel like the look of it speaks for itself."

"Yeah." Tan tilted his head as he studied the parts of Luca's arm which wasn't covered up, "Your fingers are pretty swollen, and bruised…"

Luca nodded a little, and glanced down at his bare shoulder, "-And my shoulder is pretty much black."

Hondo nodded, "Does it help having it up on those pillows?"

Luca made a noise to let Hondo know he was uncertain, "I think it throbs a bit less."

Hondo nodded, "So, are you getting surgery?"

Luca nodded a bit, "Yeah, but not today. Could be tomorrow, or later…"

"So, you're bedbound in the meanwhile?" Street asked.

Luca nodded, "Pretty much, apparently broke my kneecap as well. But the doctor figured I'd be able to walk around with a brace or a cylinder cast on it. -But he wanted the swelling to go down a bit first."

"How is it now?"

"Swollen and locked straight by a short brace." Luca sighed, "Doesn't hurt too bad, though."

"That's good." Deacon nodded.

Chris looked over at Street, then Tan, "Hey guys… What if we go grab some extra chairs…"

"Good idea…" Street nodded, and the three youngest left the room.

**SWATSWATSWAT**

"Now…" Hondo started as he sat down in one of the chairs, "How are you really feeling?"

Luca's face dropped. "Honestly?"

Deacon nodded.

"I'm scared."

Hondo nodded as well.

"Right now it feels like it'll never be alright…" he admitted, wiping at his eyes with his right hand, hating the fact that his eyes were watering, "Like, there's no one that wants to guarantee me it's going to be just like it was, or even remotely close."

"It'll be one heck of a recovery…" Deacon shrugged, "But you're tough enough, and certainly hard-headed enough to make it."

"He's right man…" Hondo winked, "You're one of the most stubborn guys I know."

"I don't know…" Luca nibbled on his lower lip a bit, "Maybe I'm getting too old for this…"

"If you are, what am I…" Deacon chuckled.

"You're younger than me…"

Hondo chuckled, "Well, at least it doesn't seem like that, most of the time."

Luca let out a sound which could sound like a laugh in some way, "Thanks."

**SWATSWATSWAT**

"How do you think he's doing?" Street asked Chris as they rested in some chairs they had gotten permission to bring into Luca's room later. They figured they'd give the old guys some time alone.

"Luca's tough…" Tan commented.

"Yeah, but it was a bad break." Chris sighed.

"Two bad breaks, that we're sure of…" Street tapped his fingers against his thigh, "Possibly more. And then there's all the other damage there might be."

"Somewhere between 180 and 200 lbs landing directly on one arm from the third floor window…" Chris shook her head, "That's a lot of force…"

"He probably weighed somewhere over 1000 lbs effectively at the impact." Tan mused, then fished his phone out of the pocket, "190 lbs, 85 kg… 23 ft drop, approximately 7 meters. That means… His velocity at the impact was 11,7 m/s… That equals an energy of about 5800 joules, which is very close to 600 kg, which again is about 1300 lbs."

"One moment I didn't see the phone in your hand, and it scared me a little…" Street admitted.

"It's scary enough with the phone…" Chris chuckled, "Poor Luca, he really must be in some serious pain."

"That's for sure." Tan nodded, "Good thing he didn't land on his head, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been at a hospital then…"

Street's face paled.

"Well, he didn't, so let's not think about that." Chris said, looking between the boys.

"House felt weird without him tonight." Street shook his head.

"You didn't stay with Molly tonight?"

"No," Street shook his head, "It was late, and I had already agreed with her that I'd crash with Luca if we didn't get done before midnight."

Chris nodded.

"Regretted about an hour after I went to bed."

Tan nodded as well, "Yesterday was a tough one…"

Chris looked towards the door to Luca's room. "This ain't right…"

Tan looked up with a questioned hum.

"Luca, being this injured," she shook her head, "It's not right. He's like the cool uncle when you were growing up, who shifted into one of your best friends when you ended up being an adult. He's the guy who's supposed to be unbreakable… Seeing him like this doesn't feel right."

Street nodded slightly, "Yeah, you've got a point."

Tan also had to agree.

"One thing's for sure, he's going to be on light duty for a good while." Street said, as he rested his right ankle on his left knee and crossed his arms.

"That's going to suck for him…" Chis sighed.

"Yeah, just think of how much it sucks for us when we're forced to go light duty due to an injury." Tan scowled down at his own boots, "As far as I know, the three of us don't suffer from dyslexia. I honestly believe my greatest fear would have been light duty if I had dyslexia…"

"-Well, it's not like he can't read…" Street shrugged, "But of course, it sucks…"

"It's not that he can't read…" Chris shook her head, "But he uses much more energy on that than what the rest of us do, Street."

"Yeah, well… Guess you've got a point." Street nodded.

Chris nodded, mostly to herself.

"How much longer do you think we should stay out here?" Tan asked looking towards the door.

Chris checked her watch, "Another minute and we should be in the clear."

**SWATSWATSWAT**

"Man, I can't wait to get better…" Luca blew out a breath, "Or, at least I can't wait to have the surgery and be allowed to start moving around again…"

The two other men nodded understandingly.

"-And I can't wait for this to stop hurting so immensely." Luca added, "At least it's not the worst pain I've been in. That being said, it's enough to really drive me nuts."

"I really wish there was something I could say to help, but I know words won't help with the pain." Deacon sighed.

Luca nodded, "I know one thing that would help…"

"Yeah?" Hondo looked up.

"Some nurse will come by with more pain meds in like thirty minutes…" Luca said, looking up at the watch.

"Do you want us to go ask if you could get your meds early?" Deacon asked.

Luca let his head loll side to side on his pillow, before he picked his answer and nodded at Deacon, "Yeah. That'd be great."

"Alright, I'll be straight back." Deacon nodded and left the room.

**SWATSWATSWAT**

"There, that's our clue…" Chris nodded towards the door as it closed again, and Deacon headed towards the nurses station.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a few days since her last shift, so she was excited to see how many of the patients she recognized. If she was lucky there would be some of the same faces there today as last time, and if she was out of luck the whole ward could have been changed out.

She was already at her regular fast pace as soon as she stepped into the hospital. She took the shortcut down to where they picked up their uniforms, then she walked double-pace to the locker room. She stripped down and hung her clothes in her locker, then she hopped into her white uniform.

She stepped into her colorful joggers, and shoved her pocket protector-nametag combo into her chest pocket. Then she shouldered her backpack and marched towards the stairs.

**SWATSWATSWAT**

She walked into the ward as she secured her nurse watch to her shirt. Then she walked to the board which told her which group she would be on that day, which turned out to be her regular one. Straight up orthopedic.

Then she walked to the right charge room to have a quiet cup of coffee before her shift started.

"Mornin' Cassie!" Derek grinned.

"Morning!" Cassie smiled back, "How was the night?"

"22-3 and 30 has both had a bad night."

"Pain?"

Derek shrugged, "30 is definitely pain. 22-3, I'm not as sure. Could be attention- or drug seeking…"

"Okay."

"So I feel like I've been running a marathon between those two rooms." Derek yawned, "24 has called a few times, also pain related… Which is very understandable…"

Cassie looked down at her sheet of paper, "Still the Luca guy?"

"Yeah."

"It says he's NPO…"

Derek nodded, "Yeah. Poor guy still haven't had his arm fixed…"

"No…"

"Yeah…" Derek sighed, "His humerus displaced yesterday, which caused additional bleeding."

"Bleeding?"

"Yeah, poked through the skin."

"So he now has two compound fractures?"

Derek nodded, "They reduced the fracture, debrided and irrigated it. Then they placed him in a cast splint which covered a lot more."

"How many times has he called tonight?"

"Just four times." Derek nodded to himself, "22-3 and 30 has called like 50 times."

"Well, guess they make SWAT guys tough."

"Or maybe they just use tough guys for SWAT…" Derek shrugged, "They certainly make the SWAT girls HOT…"

"His teammates stopped by again?"

Derek nodded, "Anyway, he's still on antibiotics I.V."

Cassie nodded, "Has his I.V. been changed recently?"

Derek checked the computer, "No, it's three days old."

"So, check it and maybe put in a new one…"

"Correct."

"And he's scheduled for I.V. antibiotics at 8?"

Derek nodded.

"How long is it since he got painkillers?"

"About an hour and thirty minutes…"

"Anything on any of the others?"

"Nothing you can't easily read in the notes."

Cassie nodded.

Then they sat there for half a minute in silence.

"So, are you done now?" Cassie asked.

"Crap, NO!" Derek got up in a hurry, "I'm supposed to give report on group 4 as well!"

Cassie chuckled.

**SWATSWATSWAT**

Luca woke up as the nurse knocked at the door. He was still a bit groggy as she opened the door and walked in with a blood pressure machine in tow.

"Good morning."

"Mornin…" Luca blinked hard as he tried to clear up the room around him.

"How has the night been?"

"Had to give in and ask for something extra to manage the pain a few times. Otherwise good."

"And how is the pain now?"

"Laying completely still? On a scale from 1 to 10?"

Cassie nodded.

"3 I guess." Luca tapped the fingers of his good hand against his knee which he had rested against the railing.

"And the peaks?"

"Before I got the last dose of painkiller, or after?"

"After."

"6, maybe 6.5." Luca yawned.

"And before?"

"Think I hit an 8.5 earlier… And just laying here was a solid 5."

Cassie nodded, "Are you ready for some measurements?"

Luca nodded and held his right arm a bit up from the mattress.

"Wanna bet on your blood pressure today?"

Luca smirked, "Low-ish, bled a bit yesterday."

Cassie nodded, "So I heard… What happened?"

"I've been having these muscle spasms…" Luca swallowed thickly, "Unfortunately my muscles were a bit stronger than the cast. Tore my shoulder out again, and my upper arm collapsed."

"That must've been painful."

Luca nodded as Cassie placed the BP cuff on his right upper arm. "The new cast splint seems more heavy duty…"

Cassie nodded, "Well, I'm turning on the machine now, so you're going to feel some pressure around your arm."

Luca nodded.

The machine whirred a bit as it filled the cuff with air then let it slowly out again, before it repeated the cycle twice. Then with a little triumphant ring the machine showed the pressure.

"What was it?"

"103 over 59…" Cassie answered and marked it down on her paper.

"Fits with the bleeding yesterday…"

Cassie nodded a little, "Yeah, but I'd like to get that a bit up before the end of my shift…"

Luca nodded, "Yeah, bet I would feel a bit better in general if we managed that."

Cassie removed the cuff from Luca's upper arm, she coiled the cord neatly and placed it back on the trolley. Then she picked up the thermometer, "Just going to swipe this across your forehead…"

Luca nodded, "I bet 99 flat."

She looked at the little screen after she was done, "Nope, 99,5."

"It's still good though?"

"Yeah, still within the norm." Cassie nodded and placed the tool back on the trolley. Then she grabbed the pulse oximeter.

Luca held his fingers up for easy access, "97"

Cassie smirked, "As pulse or saturation?"

Luca thought a bit, "Saturation. Pulse, 74."

"Saturation, 98. And the machine says your pulse is 86." She replied and jotted it down.

Luca nodded and turned his wrist out so Cassie easily could palpate his pulse.

Cassie's fingers found the pulse after she discarded the oximeter.

Luca laid in silence as she counted, only moving his right foot rhythmically.

"And I agree with the machine, mostly…"

"Just mostly?"

"I'd say 90, but that's close." Cassie smiled and wrote that down, as well as 16 respirations per minute.

"You have good warm hands." Luca said as he looked up at her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Luca smiled, "You have the best hands here."

"Bet you say that to all the nurses."

Luca shook his head slightly, "Nah, you've got first place, and that murse with glasses and a mustache is on second place."

Cassie grinned, "Yeah, Josh is great."

Luca nodded, "So, I'm not getting anything to eat today either?"

"No, sorry."

Luca nodded, "Well, do I at least get some fluids?"

"Yeah, Plasma-Lyte, and I.V. antibiotics." Cassie nodded, "And maybe a transfusion, depending on your bloodwork."

Luca nodded, "Alright, cool!"

Cassie wrote down the time as well, before she pushed the blood pressure cart out in the corridor again. Then she walked over to the window and picked up the wash-bowl. "How do you feel about freshening up a little? And get a new gown…"

"Sounds great." Luca nodded, "Honestly I feel like I ought to take a proper shower, but with this arm, that's not happening. My hair feels sticky as all h*ll."

Cassie chuckled a little, "Well, I don't think I have time to help you with that straight away, but maybe afterwards if I manage to get ahead of my schedule… Then maybe I could help you do something about that situation."

Luca smiled, "Thanks."

"No promises though."

"No, I know." Luca nodded, "You guys are awfully busy."

Cassie offered up an apologetic smile as she filled up the bowl with water. Donned a pair of gloves and wrung up the cloth.

"So, do you feel up for doing as much as possible on your own today? Or?"

"Oh, I can't admit to being in a weakened state…" Luca grinned and reached out to get the cloth, "Hand that over to me…"

Cassie handed it over and Luca washed his face and neck.

"Do you want the towel to dry your face as well?"

Luca carefully shrugged his right shoulder, "Sure. Could you wring this up for me again?"

"Sure thing." Cassie nodded and exchanged the cloth for the towel.

After patting down his face and neck, Luca placed the towel beside his hip, then he attempted getting the hospital gown off of him. His project was not successful.

"Want some help?"

Luca looked up, offering up a lopsided smile. "Looks like imma need it."

Cassie nodded, and gently tugged it away from where it was tucked under Luca's left side, before she tugged it away from under his right side and slid it off his right arm.

"I've never been more happy with the weird design on these gowns." Luca joked.

"It's pretty handy when you're not completely mobile." Cassie nodded, "And the fact that you can just tug it under your side without threading your arm through a sleeve if you're not up for it, is also a very neat trick."

Luca nodded.

Cassie rolled the old gown and tossed it in the sink. Then she wrung up the cloth and handed it to Luca again, who washed most of his chest and waist, and carefully under his left arm, before he attempted to wash under his right arm with his right arm.

A few seconds later he gave that up, and looked over at Cassie, "Could you help me a bit?"

Cassie nodded, took the cloth and wrung it up before she helped him with the part he couldn't reach on his own. Then she helped him dry off. "Want me to wash your back?"

"Could you?"

"Are you able to sit straight up?"

"Yeah…" Luca nodded and reached for the bed control and started to raise his back to a point where it wouldn't take much energy for him to sit all the way up. He didn't get all the way up there before he had to call it quits. "Cassie, could you… Could you move my arm a little?"

She nodded and walked around the bed to the correct side, "Tell me how to help you…"

"I don't know…" Luca sighed, "Can you try to ease it forward at the same pace as the bed?"

Cassie nodded, "Just let me know if I'm doing it wrong."

"-Oh, you'll hear me…"

Cassie nodded and gently cupped two hands under Luca's injured arm. Then he pressed down on the button until he was almost upright.

"Thanks."

Cassie nodded and released the arm with one of her hands to fluff the pillow it would rest on. "Then slowly down?"

Luca nodded.

They managed to place his arm on the pillows without any mishaps. Then Luca sat up the few remaining inches.

"Ready?" Cassie asked as she wrung up the cloth once again.

Luca nodded, and Cassie went to work. She made sure to be gentle near his left shoulder, but allowed herself to have a bit harder hand when she washed the remainder of his back. Pulling a content hum from Luca as she did.

"How's that?"

"Awesome."

"Good…" Cassie smirked, and reached for the dry towel. "Now, do you want to sit up for a bit, or do you want to lay back down?"

"Nah, I can sit up for a bit." Luca decided as he leaned back against the elevated back of the bed.

Cassie nodded and placed the cloth in the water-bowl before she reached out for the clean gown. Then she helped Luca get the gown around his right arm and tucked behind his sides.

Then she wrung up the cloth once again, "Would you like to use this on your privates?"

Luca nodded and reached out for the cloth, then he stopped short. "Actually, I might need some help getting this mesh-boxer thing off first…"

Cassie nodded and placed the cloth back in the water, before helping Luca.

**SWATSWATSWAT**

"Thanks…" Luca smiled as he finally rested comfortable in fresh clothes, "That actually made me feel a bit better. -A bit more tired, but also a bit better."

Cassie nodded, "I'll be by with some meds and fluids soon, and later we'll see if I can do something about that hair of yours as well."

Luca nodded, "It's seriously turning into a nest…"

Cassie smiled, "Try to get some rest in the meanwhile."

"Yes ma'am!"


End file.
